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Sure, Chaosium did so itself with the original Magic World and it was still BRP. Why not. I think there is a version or two out there with the stats in a different order. Yeah, Chaoium has strayed from 3d6 over the years, notably with SIZ and INT, but Elric! used 2d6+6 for everything. COC7 pretty much combined the stat rolls with the stats so why not? Pendragon does that and it is still BRP. RQ3 used to vary the move rate by DEX SR, too. Yeah, but that has other effects in terms how how strong creates get handed by the game. It's certainly possible. The starting skill formula has been altered from game to game, especially in games like Stormbringer, the orginal Magic World, and ElfQuest. Other versions of BRP (Stormbringer and COC7 have done similar things, so again why not? In general OGL tends to be concerned with how close you can be to the source material without overstepping, not with how much you can divert from the source material. Technically, you could even design your own game system around your changes, and not even be considered BRP, if you wished.

Well there is the original Future World booklet, but most of it's contents made it into the BGB. After that there are SciFi settings for Cthulhu and Mythras that could be adapted to BRP. THe core rules are about 75% the same across all BRP related games, so it's usually easy to port something over. If the history of Chaosium has taught us anything, it's that things change. Who can say what direction the company will be going in ten years from now?

It seems feasible. BRP is a little weak in futrsitic SciFi stuff, but it's not as bad off as it once was. I doubt it. Last I heard, they were focusing on standalone RPGs as they tend to sell better. I'll keep my fingers crossed. The good news though, is that any of us who already have BRP don't actually need the game to "get some love" for us to be able to use it. Some of my favorite RPGs are so called "orphan" games. In most cases the play just fine.

Oh, I get where you are coming from. I've gone through much the same over the years. It's just that the game mechanics do affect the game play. I understand. IMO the best approach is probably to find a game system you all like, and then use that, but avoid using it for something with a radically different feel. Yeah, down the road you can add houserules to make the game work the way you want for a given setting, but that can also be confusing to players, who won't always know or understand why special rule "X" applies in one campaign but not in another, desipte both using the same system. Well...at the risk of contradicting myself, it does scale up, just not linearly. Now, from the point of view of characters, especially player characters, it doesn't matter too much. For most PCs getting shot by a tank gun has the same result as getting caught in a nuclear blast, just messier. Still a non linear scale does work, it just that for most games it probably won't matter. Where it could matter would be in a modern or futuristic game with high tech gear and vehicles, such as battleship shooting at each other -but that probably won't affect characters directly. The difference between getting hit by a shell from a 12" gun vs. a 16" gun is moot for most characters.

No harm done, it was a long time ago. I only remember it because I bought it. I bough a lot more RPGs back then- or at least a larger percentage of what was available, as there was a lot less stuff back then. I still have a fair share of it, too. I've seen the BaSIC bestiary. While I don't entirely agree with the stat scores assigned to various creatures, the overall concept and approach are sound. A stripped down, simplified RQ, as a core system to build upon, is a great idea. Not surprising as that's essentially what Chaosium has been doing since the 70s. Practically all of their RPGs start off as a pared down version of RQ that gets modified to fit a particular setting.

As someone who used to do that, I'd say that I doubt that such a game exists. Ultimately I think the game rules need to reflect the reality of the game world, and thus one system probably won't work well for everything. Or, even if it did, a game system tailored to a specific game setting would do the job better. The classic example would be running a four color comic book campaign with BRP. TO get the feel of the comics you need to tone done most of BRPs inherent deadliness. You don't want the Hulk to squash Spiderman that one time Spidey fumbles his dodge roll. I typically have found that while I've played many game systems, and read many more, I tend to fall back on a handful of systems for most of my games. I don't think too many optional rules should be in the core book. One of the things that hurt the BGB was that there were so many options and varianrt that many GMs new to the game system didn't know what to do with it all. Most of those options were great for a GM who was already familar with the game and who wanted to customize the rules to suit a particular campaign, but they were a nightmare for someone who was just looking for a "Basic Role Playing" game. I think a basic game has to be kept simple. All the options and add ons could be put in one or more supplements to flesh it out. I think there really doesn't need to be some big differences, between personal and vehicle scale. Remember, a typical BRP character has about 12 hit points, and a tough one might have 16. SO almost any "vehicle scale" weapon is going to be an autokill against a character. Personally I've used the original Superworld/RQ3 SIZ table to put every stat on the same scale. I think it makes it much easier to stat up things consistently, and it allows for a few math tricks to simply things.

Sounds about right, escpet that you forgot The Fantasy Trip, which was the basis for GURPS. I was thinking more along the lines of something two or three times that- similar to, but with a bit more to it than original magic world. Basically a core, standalone gamebook without all the bells and whistles that could serve as an introductory/basic RPG. All the bells & Whistiles could then be put into an expansion book. But, that would assume a desire to go that route, which doesn't seem to be the case.

In theory, yes. If a kickstarter got a lot of support, finace it would show there was interest and mitigate the risks. I doubt the fanbase is really there for it, but a kickstarter would show if there is or not. That's sort of the point. BRP came about in 80s when most of the major RPG companies were turning their game systems into generic It then became something of the default for all new game systems, in no small part helped by most games having a strong simulations approach. The trend lasted into the 90, when games with more specific settings and style took over, making rule sets tailored to a particular setting more popular. You missed HERO system, which was possible the first generic system. Both HERO and BRP pioneered the idea of a generic system, and both did so by taking a successful parent game system (Champions and RuneQuest, repsectively) and then using those rules for other settings. Rolemaster would probably be another. HERO, ICE and Steve Jackson Games were the companies that produced the bulk of the setting books that covered various historical/semi-historical places. Yes, Savage Worlds has been quite successful as a somewhat generic system that is easily adapted to any setting by putting out setting specific game books. But, at this point in time, even D&D has been morphed into a "generic" system, by way of adapting specfic settings tot he D&D ruleset. Practically any game system can be used to handle any desired setting. Some are better fits or easier to agapt to a particluar setting that others. THose are all good ideas but they also bring new problems. Would probably make BRP even more difficult for new GMs, who have already been confused by the various options. IMO what we probably need is a simplier version of BRP, without the options, and then an Advanced Role Playing supplmenent with the optional and variant rule systems. You mean port over the stuff from Pulp Cthulhu? Amen. But I think that runs into a stylistic choice. The rules in BRP are very abstract regarding vehicles. I think that to have vehicle rules that go into any sort of detail, we'd need to have some sort of scale for vehicle values. For instance a direct corrlation between a vehicle's speed in MPH or KPH to MOV and/or Rated Speed. But I think most the people involved with BRP justr want generic "close enough" examples to work with. That we already have. Generally you write up playable races just like any other character. Since there is no difference in the stats between PCs and NPC or monsters it's the same rules for all. It's just that monsters don't train and improve all that much, and most NPCs aren't as skilled as PCs to give the PCs and edge. Unlikely at present. Chasoium seems more focused on doing complete games for specific settings, and they tend to do better in the marketplace -especially when it comes to the lifeblood of a successful RPG line -supplements. Setting specific supplements tend to sell better than generic ones.

double post

Exaclty. The BGB takes a lot of things from several differernt games, that were never designed to work together, and attempts to do just that. A tall order, and one made more complicated by the inclduion of alternate and variant rules. It's great as a toolkit for GMs already familiar with the Chaosium family of games, as they can pick and choose what they want for thier particular game, but it doesn't always mesh well. I can understand the shift to self contained Games, though, as you kinda have to be very familiar with the various BRP games to get the most out of the BGB, and the book isn't as accessible to new players. It a way the BGB is like a high end custom guitar. In the hands of a master it can outperform a basic instrument, but in the hands of a novice it doesn't sound any better than a $99 beginner's guitar. I agree. It's why I like a Stamina roll to avoid blood loose for one full turn, and requiring a special success (or first aid) to stabilize. People can (and have) bleed out over the course of hours or even days.

No, but I don't think it is that great of a rule to begin with. But then, IMO pretty much everything good in in the BGB was done better in a previous book. I think the BGB's best feature it that it collected together a lot of stuff that had been usd in various other games beforehand, and kinda brought it all back into the spotlight after being gone for over twenty years. But, a lot of what is there doesn't work out all that well when collected together, or with the new rules introduced in the BGB, such as bleeding. It's not like people can't bleed to death from pointed or blunt weapons. Since I know you like to tinker, I'd suggest going with the Stamina roll to avoid the 1 point of blood loss for that 5 minute turn, but requiring a special success to stop bleeding. That way the guy with a 15 CON has a 75% chance of not losing a hit point (so he will bleed out at about 1 hit point per 20 minutes), but only a 15% chance of stopping (so he will probably lose a hit point or two before he does). That way First Aid would still be better than relying on a Stamina roll.

I always favored the RQ3 AP ratings for blocking. They seemed to be the best of the pack. But then I've also played with the idea of making blocking and parrying two different things. I'd strongly suggest factoring in success level (or whatever variation of it you use) into the equation, and going with a fixed value rather than a die roll. Otherwise parrying becomes too unreliable. It's similar to how the random armor method isn't all that great- a wide linear distribution, with the average damage being about half of the fixed value leads to armor not being much of a factor. If an average parry can't stop an average attack, then people will look to some other defense.

The history of it goes back to RuneQuest. Originally there way no dodge or evade, instead characters had a defense score, which was subtracted from the opponent's attack skill. Back then Parry would stop a certain amount of damage, based upon the parrying weapon of shield. Shields would typically stop about 12 points per attack, and weapons could stop of to their hit points but would break once thier hit points ran out. Special and Crtical successes would stop more and/or avoid weapon damage. The Stormbringer came out. It added a new Dodge skill, which could be used to avoid an attack, but at the cost of other actions. In addtuion Strombringer altered parries so that they stopped all damage, and mostly eliminated weapon breakage. Then Runequest 3 came out and changed dodge so that it could be done in place of an attack or parry, and replaced the weapon hit points with armor points, making most weapons a bit more durable than they used to be, while still potentially breaking. Since that time the rules have been tweaked a bit with other games, depending upon the choice of the various authors, and their preferences. The changes mostly came down to how people felt about tracking weapon damage and if they preferred the RuneQuest game mechanics to the more simplified ones presented in Stormbinger, Worlds of Wonder, or some such. Each version has it's own merits and drawbacks. Oh, and to be a bit more realistic for a moment, the typical RQ parry is really more of a block than a parry. That is, it sticks an object in the path of the attack to soak damage, rather than trying to deflect the attack and create an opening for a counter attack. Usually an actual parry is better, but harder to pull off, while blocking is pretty easy.

Yeah, that was pretty much the model for RPGs back in the days when Chasoium was a major RPG company. Stand alone games that used a variation of the RuneQuest/BRP ruleset customized to work for that setting. Exactly. THE BGB is a nice toolkit, but is really for people who already have BRP games and just want to collect various options. Most GMs seem to want some sort of established setting worked out for them, rather than a host of options. For that sort of stuff, you might want to look at some of the RQ2/RQ3 campaign packs, such as Borderlands. IMO, that is some of the best campaign sourcebook material ever written. You get an well fleshed out setting, with NPCs, over a half dozen adventures, lots of story ideas for further adventures, and a book full of encounters and stats.

Stormbringer and it's spin off/variants used to give a SIZ +?- for various types of armor. The idea being that something like mail, which is flexible, can fit more people than something that is rigid, such as plate. Per Magic World (I think the latest iteration) Soft Leather: +/-2 Leather & Rings, Mail, Half Plate: +/-1 Full Plate: -1 (only) Hard Leather, Leather & Wood: No RQ3 also had some rules for SIZ, but grouped in into increments of 5 SIZ, with larger armor being heavier.

Indeed. But back then most people didn't know any better, and tended to overestimate. It was also much harder to get good data, and most sources that were available tended to be based more upon Victorian theories and guesstimates. And this was all for a game and no one really expected it to be relevant in a few years time. Ancient and medieval coins tended to be much smaller and lighter, than 19th century coins. The quarter ounce gold piece is much more appropriate, and one of the things that D&D improved upon with the 50 coins to 1 pound ratio.

I guess we are. Ah,. I that case I think the reason why Magic World didn't take off it is pretty much the same reason as to why Stormbringer/Elerc! never reall took off. Magic World is mostly Stormbringer with the Elric stuff taken out. It's not a bad RPG, but it would be unlikely for it to be more popular suddenly, after floating around in a similar form for years. Especially when it never really got put under the spotlight. It's a pity, as Stormbinger/Elric!/Magic World was always a pretty good RPG, but one that was always on Chaosium's back burner.

Not really, if you look at itin context. First off it was one 16 page booklet in a set that was just barely enough to run a game with. I think anyone who really liked it probably already had RuneQuest or Stormbringer or would soon do so, and would take advantage of the features of those other games. Magic world had a somewhat suspect magic system, too. It worked, but didn't really work well compared to combat. A 4D6 fireball in BRP terms is devastating As with Superworld and Future World, I think Magic World was more along the lines of a proof of concept, showing what could be done with the BRP system, more than actually accomplishing it.

But unless you have some idea of the real weight of coins you'll end up with ridiculous results. Look at old D&D and AD&D with it's 1.6 ounce coins and 25 pound greatswords. "Eye balling it" only really holds up if people know enough about the subject to make a decent estimate. I think that's because in general we need help when administer the effects of abstract concepts in game terms. For example, being able to talk your way out of a speeding ticket or convincing the doorman that you should be let into the nightclub. With things that we have real data for, we don't have to deal with abstracts and so it becomes much easier to administer in game. For instance, can a sportscar hold 50 gallons in it fuel tank, or can 6 people fit into an elevator. That makes it much easier for people to handle "off the cuff" without the need for game rules.

Yeah, but it also dropped some attributes for NPCs.

Me too. There are lots of different ways to do things in an RPG. That's one of the reason why there can be so many different RPGs.

Yeah,, but if you are replacing that with a D20 roll then you could just go with D20+modifiers for both sides and use an opposed roll. That might be a nice option to have. I was thinking of doing something along those lines for a game where only the players roll and the NPCs just get 10+their modifiers. Yeah, BRP wasn't really designed for opposed rolls. That's why I'd avoid them if possible. Just that there are several ways to apply it. I though you were just using for initiative, not for the success chance. If so I suggest just putting skill on a 1-20 scale instead of percentiles, and maybe coverting the whole game to work that way. You get a good deal of flexibility that way. Okay. It works.

Ah, in that case the idea of shifting the die type might work out better for you. For instance, let';s say DEX 10 is 1d6 (10/2, =5 round to the d6) and you shift it up a die for skill above 50% to 1d8. That would be easier to do beforehand and die dshift on the fly are fairly easy. But then, I'm just brainstorming. Okay, still a bit confused, as there have been multiple ways to handle opposed rolls. . For iFor instance is is DEX 10 vs. DEX 15 on the resistance table (so 25/75%) with 1/10th the skill thrown in i.e so 90% vs 20% would be (10+9) =19 vs (15+2) =17 on the resistance table ), or 25vs 75 with a 7% shift for the difference in skill, or is it something like an opposed 50%+10th skill vs 75%+1/10% skill roll. Ah, okay. Basically the AC formula. Although I'd be tempted to let both sides roll and let the higher roll win. I'd even drop initiative and go with that for melee combat too. It really simplifies a lot of stuff.

That kinda depends on how important you want each factor to be. DEX+d10 makes DEX about twice as important as the random factor, since the average DEX is twice what the average roll in a 1D10. DEX+Skill./10+1d10 puts skill somewhere in the middle, as while it is lower than DEX will be, it is still a constant. But there are a gazllion (technical term) ways to handle it. You might be a bit concerned with ultra high skills though Bladesharp/Sharpen 6 would mean +3 to Initiative, and true sword would double the skill component. But that might not bother you. I could see using the DEX as a way to determine the random die (i.e. DEX/2, nearest for a high roll wins) and then shifting the die up or down depending on skill. But in the end it's not that much different. I'm curious. IS that straight +/10th increase to the % change or a 1/10% increase to the stat for the resistance table?

How adjacent do you want to go? Perhaps the simplest stat block belongs to West End's Star Wars RPG, which grew out of the Ghostbuster's RPG that Chaosium created for them. It introduced the idea of a 2D/4D statblock (2D attributes/4D skill) being the typical NPC. I've adapted that to BRP with 10/12hp/40% statblocks for typical NPCs without a problem. You don't really need much to track average.